Throughly enjoyed this film. The characters married beautifully to such a deliciously scribed plot, and were oh so believable... even the cringe factor worked - when gorgeous Tamara stoops well short (way shorter than her short shorts-geez if only i could pull that look off...) and sleeps with the guy who reminds me of Christopher Hitchens (... nice brain - ah, Hitchens, that is, but shame about the rest...)... and the schoolgirls - oh..the two teenage girls totally carried this movie they were AWESOME !! Anybody who did not enjoy this movie hasn't been around. The various characters - the lecherous writer, the 'put upon' housewife, the rock star and the hotel licensee were fantastically observed characters. I loved it!
... View MoreComedy can be a difficult thing to do really well, and so many filmmakers have learned this the hard way. Having a great cast and competent director is instantly negated if the script is weak, because the material for them to work off simply isn't there. Unfortunately, this is the curse that "Tamara Drewe" suffers greatly from - it's got good moments and a fantastic group of skilled actors, but it never lives up to its promise.The film tells the story of a small English country town which is suddenly turned over when Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton), an attractive journalist, returns to the village after many years. A lot of people are drawn to Tamara, including a drummer, a local farm-hand and an ageing writer, and there is a bit of good comedy from their reactions to her. The writer, played the fantastic Roger Allam, has an affair with her despite his long term marriage to his wife, played by Tamsin Greig. The chaos which Tamara creates is occasionally funny, but is sometimes too drawn out and unrealistic to be enjoyable. Gemma Arterton is mostly quite annoying as Tamara, and the fact that the film doesn't actually have a very likable main character prevents it from becoming too enjoyable.What really lifts the film from being completely awful is the cast of experienced actors and a few good comedic set pieces. Allam and Greig's chemistry and arguing is very well managed, and Allam gives us a fantastic depiction of the 'mid-life crisis' through his ageing writer. Dominic Cooper is also quite amusing as the vain rockstar, but Luke Evans' 'hunky farm-boy' act is relatively dull. The two children who keep messing things up are also very irritating, and despite being crucial to certain chaotic events in the movie, really just feel like someone should give them a slap.Stephen Frears helms the film, and this makes it slightly more disappointing given the recent successes of "The Queen" and "High Fidelity", which I loved greatly. He does capture the countryside well, and makes it a good setting for so much romantic mayhem. The script is a large problem however, keeping too many romcom clichés while trying to work as a slower paced screwball comedy. We are in the 'ridiculous' so much that it makes it disappointing that unfortunately we never reach the 'sublime'. While 'Tamara Drewe' is light and mostly well acted, perhaps it's just not for me.
... View MoreEnglish producer and director Stephen Frears' nineteenth feature film which was written by British playwright and director Moira Buffini, is an adaptation of British illustrator, newspaper cartoonist and writer Posy Simmonds' weekly comic strip which was published in The Guardian in 2005 and re-published as a graphic novel in 2007. It premiered in the Out of competition section at the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival in 2010, was screened in the Shows section at the 37th Telluride Film Festival in 2010, in the Special Presentations section at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival in 2010 and is a British production which was shot in Pinewood Studios and on location in Dorset, London in England and produced by English producers Alison Owen and Tracy Seaward and Dutch-born producer Paul Trijbits. It tells the story about Tamara Drewe, a journalist in London who after her mother passes away returns to the place where she grew up to sell her mother's house. After arriving in Ewedown, Tamara, who is significantly changed due to a nose job, turns the head of all the male residents and upsets all the female residents. She is reunited with a local peasant named Andy Cobb who she once had a fling with, but after a short stay she returns to London where the famous rock band Swipe is holding a concert to do an interview with drummer Ben Seargant. The concert doesn't go quite as intended, but to Tamara's great fortune she gets the drummer's attention and he agrees to go with her to Ewedown for the interview. Back in Ewedown two adolescent girls named Jody and Casey who are fans of Ben Seargent notices that the man of their dreams is in their village and are not too happy about seeing him with Tamara Drewe, so they decide to do something about it.Finely and engagingly directed by British filmmaker Stephen Frears, this fast-paced fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints, draws a surreal portrayal of the profound effect one single woman has on the inhabitants of a village in the English countryside during one year. While notable for it's colorful and atmospheric rural milieu depictions, fine production design by UK production designer Alan McDonald, cinematography by English cinematographer Ben Davis, costume design by Irish costume designer Consolata Boyle and make-up by make-up designer Daniel Phillips, this dialog-driven and narrative-driven comedy-drama contains a fine score by French composer Alexandre Desplat. This sarcastically humorous, somewhat romantic and literary story about a countryside village that is turned upside down after a charming young woman returns, is impelled and reinforced by it's subtle character development, cogent narrative structure, colorful characters, interrelating stories, quick-witted dialog and the fine acting performances by Welsh actor Luke Evans and British actress Gemma Arterton, English actor Dominic Cooper, English actress Jessica Barden, English actor Roger Allam and English actress Tamsin Greig from the great ensemble cast. An involving and multifaceted character piece.
... View MoreTAMARA DREWE already had a following from her appearance in the best selling graphic novel by the same name by Posy Simmonds, an so it was probably not too difficult for the talented Stephen Frears to direct a pitch perfect cast to bring the delightful story to the screen. Filled to the brim with excellent actors this strange little story has many levels of meaning, but the main story is very well served.Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton) was historically a face to forget in the town of Ewedon, but she leaves for the city and plastic surgery and returns with a new nose and facelift that makes her as attractive as any lass in the town. She plays on the talents of married highly successful crime novelist Nicholas (Roger Allam) to polish her writing skills - the cost is an affair that leaves Nicholas ready to divorce his perfect wife (Tamsin Grieg). She also attracts the interest of her childhood solid friend Andy (Luke Evans) and the rather superficial and silly rock star Ben (Dominic Cooper) and eventually, with the running of interference by two loathsome little girls (Charlotte Christie and Jessica Barden), and it all turns out with many surprises! It is a dissection of relationships a la Thomas Hardy and Frears know how to make it all work very well.It is always a pleasure to be in the company of fine British actors in a lovely English countryside setting and this is no exception. Everyone in the cast is excellent - and it continues to be a pleasure to watch the very talented Dominic Cooper grow in the challenging roles he assumes. There are many reasons to enjoy this film, and among them is the sheer craftsmanship of the British cinema. Grady Harp
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